BAIDU Inc. on Thursday unveiled its much-anticipated artificial intelligence-powered chatbot known as Ernie Bot, with its CEO saying that it was the culmination of the firm’s years of hard work in artificial intelligence (AI).

Robin Li took to a Beijing stage to introduce the Ernie Bot, a landmark moment for China’s search giant that’s struggled in recent years to revitalize growth.

Li and technology chief Wang Haifeng were expected to pose questions in real-time to demonstrate Ernie’s capabilities, but the CEO surprised viewers by showing a pre-recorded, scripted video of interactions with the AI.

The bot was not perfect but Baidu was releasing it now because of market demand, Li said.

To date, 650 companies have said they will join the Ernie ecosystem, he added. Domestic media outlets and the Shaolin Temple were among the first sign-ups to become Ernie Bot partners.

The popularity of ChatGPT, backed by Microsoft, has triggered a frenzied rush among Chinese tech giants and startups alike to develop a rival.

It’s unclear when Baidu will allow the public to interact with its version of ChatGPT, which was introduced November. The Beijing-based company is regarded as a leader in a race with the likes of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. to create a next-generation platform for the world’s largest internet market.

Chinese firms join U.S. names such as Microsoft Corp. and Google in trying to tap the potential of so-called generative AI, after services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Dall-E demonstrated to the public the ability to create songs and videos and provide full answers on demand.

While American companies now lead that effort, China’s should be able to catch up thanks to vast data hoards and their ability to fine-tune and roll out technology rapidly, according to industry pioneer and bestselling author Kai-Fu Lee. Collectively, they could usher in a technological revolution to dwarf the mobile age.

Baidu has touted its many years of heavy research and development investment in artificial intelligence and deep learning as one reason it is best placed to lead the race to develop a Chinese answer to ChatGPT.

Baidu’s research and development expenses in 2022 were 21.4 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion), accounting for 22% of revenue.

Baidu plans to use Ernie Bot to revolutionize its search engine, by far the most dominant in China, as well as use it to increase efficiency in cloud, smart cars and household appliances, among other mainstream businesses. (SD-Agencies)